running animation + still

[JWW]

main character still frame and run cycle for a game project.  Let me know what you guys think.
still

running

[Dhaos]

The run is pretty good, but why does is background arm go further back (< way) than his foreground arm? The sprite could also use some contrast, its a tad bit dark, though if you used near-black invironments it probably wouldn't be too much of a problem.

[vedsten]

Pretty cool

issues: (i second dhaos comments on the arm/contrast), the vertical movement of the head is a bit strange, the head upper body moves from SW(southwest) to NE, imo it would be better to reduce it to just S/N, also, a bit of hair movement would spice it up alot.

[JWW]

thanks for the critiques, i really appreciate them.

i increased the contrast, fixed the back arm frame, and fixed the bounce so it's just up and down.




better?

[Xion]

Yeah, better.

[JWW]

thanks xion, im still gonna add more contrast i think, but tomorrow. gotta hit the hay.

[vedsten]

Yeah i think it helped, also, you might wanna go for less highlights, or might even darken the distant arm and leg, it would make the animation less cluttered and decrease the contrast issues.

[JWW]

thanks for the critiques =)

update:
running:

still:

new stuff:

better?
thanks again for all the feedback.

[vedsten]

can you post one w. transp / white bg ?, defenitly improved, but even bigger contrast wouldn't hurt, also, still think the distant arm leg should be darker and with less shades (+ the hair movement, though i know it's a bitch ^^)

[JWW]

here ya go

[Dhaos]

JWW, excellent work, you improved the anim alot. The added contrast is much better. Btw those new pics are pretty cool too, the flower petals could use some work though, they seem kinda not-like-petals >_<. Try googling up flowers and try to shape it simliar to a known plant. The boulder/rocks seem fine, good palette too.

[JWW]

thanks dhaos that means a lot =)

as for the plant, i actually did that on purpose believe it or not =P  idunno, i kinda wanted to do something away from the normal plant.  sorta wanted like a red fern/thorn bush coming out the top, but come to think of it, that tiny stem wouldn't be able to hold something like that, ill fix that.  Oh and glad you like the rock =)

[Sohashu]

The furthest arm doesnt stand out enough.  IT would be quite effective in darker levels but otherwise, I would suggest an outline. 

Great work BTW.

[vedsten]

I really like the animation itself, but i still think you've got some color issues. Took a min. and saved, and realized that you've got way too many colors going on, 24 in the frame i checked to be exact. A lot of them just don't serve any purpose, but what's worse is, that they really makes the sprite look cluttered, you can't tell the what's what.

did a little edit, hope it's ok.



I just picked a some colors from your pallette, recolored it and moved a few pixel around.
This might be a bit too harsh, but it'll give you an idea on what i'm talking about

[JWW]

@sohashu
thanks =) well most stuff is outlined already, but ill try to darken the farther limbs.

@vedsten
well i like the heightened contrast but i think it takes away too much from the design, ie hair color, hair shape, pants color, shirt color, far leg band, etc.  I know what your getting at though so this will help me thanks =).

thanks for the feedback guys =]

EDIT: hmm, i know what you mean by a lot of them dont serve a purpose like the the dark blue and dark grey.  Ill try to merge some of those colors, but they sort of help me distinguish parts of the design when animating.  The main reason its cluttered is the details of the design.  The clothing/accessories are emulating kingdom hearts/final fantasy type clothing. Ill do my best to fix the color issues but i don't want to sacrifice the design.

[JWW]

ok =}
i reshaded the legs because i thought they were very flat, merged some colors, darkened far limbs



any crits at this point? im still attempting to reduce colors without sacrificing design as well as adding highlights to the hair and some more contrast on the hair.